Star Wars: The Last Holiday Special
by MatrixOfWumbo
Summary: Luke Skywalker was dead: to begin with...
1. Chapter 1

Luke Skywalker was dead.

That much, Kylo Ren thought as he stalked the halls of the _Finalizer_ , he could count on.

It was a small comfort to him. Quite some time had passed since the disastrous expedition to Crait, where the Resistance - where _she_ \- had slipped through his fingers, where the First Order had lost their capital ship, where he felled the Last Jedi, but where his uncle defied him even to the grave by not leaving behind a body.

But he was dead, and that was what mattered.

He watched from a high catwalk as ranks of Stormtroopers ran drills in the training rooms. This was always a miserable time of year for him. The young Ben Solo was always dragged on board his parents' ship and taken to Kashyyyk, so their hairy manservant could celebrate his insipid holiday with his family. Though he would refuse to acknowledge it today, back then the boy enjoyed spending time with the Wookiee Chewbacca. But being surrounded by his extended family was always off-putting. Like cousins one only sees at wedings and funerals, Ben found little in common with Lumpy, the only other person his relative age in the house. And like his mother, he barely spoke a word of their language. As he grew older he grew to dread his trips to that planet, listening to cooking shows and plugging his ears at the raucous choir of grunts and braying that constituted the Wookiee tongue.

Life Day.

As Supreme Leader his daily routine had changed little. Unlike his former master he had little intention of lounging about while his underlings managed the army.

"Hux!"

The red haired general winced as his new leader entered the hangar bay. "I am here, sir. How might I serve you today?"

"You can start by being present. You have a habit of being where I'm not."

"Forgive me, Supreme Leader," Hux scowled. "There is still much recovery to be done from the loss of the _Supremacy_. And we are... short handed."

There was still no word from Phasma. Perhaps she had really died this time, Ren pondered. Though he doubted it. If half the stories were true, an exploding ship would only serve to worsen her mood.

"Hn. So we are. I've been considering bringing in further support."

Of course he was, Hux thought. Long before Ren had first voiced his interests in summoning the Knights of Ren from their positions abroad, Hux knew it was only a matter of time. It was the last thing the general or the First Order needed. One unstable Jedi dropout was enough. Not for the first time he cursed himself for not arriving at the throne room even a minute earlier. He could have just shot the idiot and have been done with it.

For his part, Ren trusted Hux a far shorter deal than the Force allowed him to throw the sniveling officer. But they needed a unified front if either of them were to maintain their authority over the rest of the First Order. Besides, he had felt increasingly uncomfortable in solitude lately.

 _Life Day_.

Kylo Ren had long left that part of himself behind, but - like the scar on his face - there was always something to remind him of the holiday. No matter where he went in the Galaxy. This year was particularly bad. Why couldn't he seem to let it go? He had destroyed all ties to his previous life. His father fell to his death at his own hand. His mother... likely still lived, a fact that often drew forth his ire. His uncle was finally dead, after dropping an entire hut on him had long ago failed to prove sufficient. So why couldn't the universe simply let him keep this wretched Wookiee holiday in his own way?

The day passed without much of interest, until at last it came time to retire for the night. After his evening rounds Kylo Ren reached the door to his quarters. As he leaned forward to input the entry code, he thought he saw something - a face? - reflected in the polished metal door. But before he could make sense of anything, it was nothing at all. Just a corridor, gloss black like much of the rest of the ship.

 _Ridiculous_ , he thought to himself.

The lights in the floor flickered into night mode as the leader of the First Order entered. Tonight, perhaps, he would indulge in a drink before he went to sleep.

 _Ben_.

Hmph. Definitely a night for a drink.

What strange wave in the Force was causing these episodes? Noises, faces? What was next, Ren thought as he felt something crunch beneath his boot.

It was rock salt. Kylo didn't have to guess where it was from.

The salt continued across the room into the kitchenette. Ren's fingers danced lightly on the hilt of his lightsaber as he crossed the threshold. He rounded the corner and experienced a rapid succession of emotions.

"Hello Ben," Luke Skywalker said. The Jedi Master was perched on the edge of one of Kylo's stools, fingers laced and a small, expectant look on his face.

"The Jedi technique to transcend life and and death," the boy breathed.

"Well what do you know," Skywalker leaned back. "I did teach you something."

"You taught me how much stronger I could be without you," Ben whispered, the shock dulling much of the hate he had hoped to put behind the words. "So what you're... haunting me, now?"

"I told you, I would always be with you if you struck me down in anger. And then you impaled me."

"You weren't actually there."

"The intent was the important thing," he shrugged.

"And why are you here right now? Why can't I always see you?"

"One of the perks of joining with the Force. You can be anywhere the Force is, as invisible as the Force is. Unless we wish it to be so. I made a special effort to wish my favorite nephew a happy Life Day."

Kylo Ren studied his Uncle's features. He looked just the same as he did on the day of their duel. Except even that wasn't true. The robes were the same, but the face was... clearer. As though he had been sleeping better.

Luke seemed to guess his intent. "As you live longer, your spirit takes on a heavier and heavier burden. In that sense, what comes next is a blessing."

"Is that you inviting me to kill myself? To finish what you couldn't?"

"Only an admonition: never get old," Luke chuckled. "Besides, you still have a lot of life left to live."

"Yes," Ren started softly, his voice rising in a crescendo. "I do. A life without you. Without Snoke. Without Han Solo. Without anyone manipulating me or dictating my destiny! My life is no longer anyone's to control."

"Your life is what I would like you to think about. I lost so much time when I was alive. I don't want the same to happen to you. But you won't listen to me. I suppose I cant really blame you for that. But maybe you'll listen to someone else."

Ren frowned. "I don't follow."

"Tonight you're going to meet three of my friends. Perhaps their words will be more... impactful."

"Maybe I don't want to hear any more from you. Or your friends. Maybe I don't care what they have to say!"

Luke tilted his head. "Maybe. But neither of us is going anywhere, so it's probably worth a shot." At this, the old master faded from view.

 _Three visitors. Expect the first one soon._

Kylo stood frozen on the spot for a few seconds, then lashed out at the glassware on his shelf. He stopped just short of igniting his saber to cleave through the counter at which his uncle once sat. Instead he merely sat on the floor of his kitchen and fumed.

Like many nights in his past, Kylo Ren fell asleep angry.

This; however, would not be like most nights.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Young Solo."_

Kylo Ren was in the middle of an unpleasant dream. In it, the ghost of his dead uncle had come back to haunt him, and promised to send more ghosts after him.

 _"Mm. Wake up young one, wake up you must! Much to see, there is. And little time to see it."_

What was worse was the nagging feeling that it wasn't a dream at all.

 _Wake! Up!_

Ren was suddenly rocked from his slumber by the thud of a blunt object. After his eyes adjusted, the dark haired boy found the source of the attack. A wizened green creature, perhaps 2 feet tall and leaning on a small wooden cane, was standing at the foot of his bed with a bemused look in his large eyes.

"The Supreme Leader, lazy he is! Up and dressed, Young Solo. Places we must be!"

"Don't call me that. What... what are you?"

"What! What he calls me! Who! The question is who! Tell me child, did any of your masters tell you of an old Jedi? Yoda, his name was."

He blinked. "You... _you're_ Master Yoda?"

"He I am! And I am he," the tiny spirit smiled. "Surely Master Skywalker spoke fondly of his time with me."

"He said Master Yoda was wise and powerful beyond belief."

Yoda's ears twitched. "Yee hee hee! Indeed. But small and green also, am I. This is often surprising, I think. Hmm."

"Did Skywalker send you? Are you here to convert me to back to the Light Side?"

"Such a request would be asking much of the Dead on behalf of the Living," Yoda shook his head. "I am here to only to show. Images of the past, I bring."

"My past? Your past? Does anything you say make sense?"

"Mm. Your past, you have already seen. Think about it, yes? And my past is very far away indeed. Old was I long before even your grandfather was young. But perhaps it is easier if I show you."

Yoda closed his eyes and nodded his head. Kylo Ren leapt from his bed as the room faded into darkness. When the light returned, he was in a large, dimly lit room. Looking at his arm, he realized that he now possessed the same bluish glow as Yoda, and of Skywalker. He supposed that this wasn't a real place, more like an illusion. Ren was at the top of a thin metal staircase, before a great circular window. Beyond the window he could tell that they were in orbit over a green planet. In front of the window was a tall chair on a swivel. Yoda's spirit appeared on the seat of the chair.

"What do you think, hmm? To my tastes, it is not. But this is no ordinary chair. The throne of Darth Sidious, this is. From here he intended to watch the Galaxy fall under his sway, within his ultimate creation. The Death Star, this is. The second one, to be precise."

"This is the Death Star," Kylo repeated, taking in the scope of the room. "Then that's Endor down there. This was the turning point in the Civil War. Where the Empire lost."

"Mm. Lose they did. And lost, they were. In disarray. Away from the known Galaxy, they fled. In Snoke, a savior they found. Perhaps the story is not as simple as that. But when emerge from the Unknown Regions they did, the First Order they had become." He tilted his head at Kylo. "Well known to you, this story is? I would imagine so, yes."

Ren snorted. "Of course. Everyone in the First Order knows our history. The Emperor instructed his officers that, upon his death, the first order of business was to re-establish the Empire in his stead. That was how we got our name."

Yoda nodded. "And in that way, this room is where your story began. For in a short while, the Emperor will enter this room. But leave it, he will not."

He vanished from the chair and reappeared near a large opening in the floor. He beckoned the taller spirit over.

"Watch your step, Young Solo. A long way down, it is."

An understatement, to be sure. As Kylo Ren peered down, he saw no end to the chute.

"Why does the Emperor keep a bottomless shaft in his throne room?"

"A very good question, that is. Curious about that was I, as well. But bottomless it is not. Down to the core of the station it leads. Tell me, Young Solo. Did you ever hear of how the Emperor died?"

"I know that he was defeated by Luke Skywalker when he confronted Darth Vader. He turned Vader against the Emperor and they destroyed him together."

"Hmm. Perhaps that story is correct enough, for now. Accomplish much, the Emperor did. Toppling the Republic. Destroying the Jedi. Much success, yes. But his ultimate goal eluded him. Eternal life. An everlasting empire of the Sith. These things, he did not find. Wasted his life, he did, in pursuit of these things."

"The Galaxy still feels his legacy in the First Order," Kylo retorted. "His life was not wasted. We've seen to that."

"Mm. Or perhaps you all continue on in his folly. Continue, we should."

The scene faded, and when it returned to focus, Ren felt intense vertigo. They were on the edge of an impossibly tall skyscraper, extending far down past the walkways below. The buildings stretched in every direction, and beneath them there appeared to be yet more, stacks and stacks of urban sprawl crowding each other out like shrubs under a forest canopy.

"Ah, Coruscant. Never expect to return here, did I. Miss it, I did not."

An explosion sent flames rising up from the distance. "What's going on here?" The boy asked.

Yoda kept his eyes closed. "In the shadows, the war to create the Empire was fought. Untouched, Coruscant was. This is the war to _unmake_ the Empire. In the light, it is fought. Three weeks ago the Empire was defeated at Endor. Over, they thought the war was. Emperor dead, Vader dead. Celebrations, they had. Wrong, they were. On Coruscant, the war was only beginning."

Below the shapes and flashing lights of police cruisers darted by, heading for the source of the blast.

The old master turned to Kylo Ren. "Even here in the center of the Empire, Sidious failed to capture the hearts and minds of his subjects. In this way he lost long before he set foot on the Death Star."

"Where they might have celebrated freedom from tyranny, others mourned the loss of their security." Ren shrugged. A lot of people felt safe under the empire. And that was enough. The republic represented uncertainty. The First Order rose out of that uncertainty."

"Rule the First Order, you now do," Yoda tapped Ren's hip with his cane. "Where will you fit into it all?"

The boy thought a long time. "I don't really have one. I don't follow the First Order because I care about their politics. I outgrew the Jedi Temple, and they were the next step in my path."

"Mm. A path. A perilous path, your family walks. Near to the border of Light and Dark, always choosing one side, always tempted by the other. For this reason, I think, is the Skywalker bloodline is so strong with the Force. Perhaps. But I am old, and it is time for me to rest."

Ren tilted his head. "You're leaving already?"

"Oh? Miss me, will you? That effect on people, I have. Yee hee hee!"

"Stop giggling. What was the point of all this? This was all before I was even born. The crushing of dissidents, the military conquests, that's all Hux's world. I wanted to reach my full potential in the Force, and once I've destroyed the Light that will be possible."

The sky over Coruscant slowly began to go blurry again. "A question for you, I have," Yoda sighed. "What comes after? When destroyed the Jedi are, when alone in the universe you are? Where will you go? Will you sit on your throne and rule an army you don't believe in? If not, who will you go to? Like poetry, it is. Everything rhymes. What does the past show you about your future?"

Before Kylo Ren could answer, he lost sight of the green alien in a dense cloud. As it parted, he found himself back in his room.


	3. Chapter 3

Kylo wandered out into the main room of his quarters. Luke leaned out of the doorway to the kitchenette holding a jar of opaque liquid.

"It's out of date, Ben," the Jedi master wrinkled his nose. "You'd better stock up before you ship off."

"I hate you."

"Master Yoda can be an acquired taste," Luke ignored him. "But he taught me almost everything I know."

"That's not exactly high praise."

His uncle rolled his eyes. "Yoda lived longer than most of the crew of this ship combined. His wisdom is invaluable. But he doesn't give it freely. It took me a long time to see that. Certainly longer than a single night."

"Tired. Of dealing with unwanted visitors."

"Oh, but you're already halfway there! And you might just like find you have something in common with my next friend."

He very much wanted to go to bed. But a warm glow from the chamber suggested he wasn't done yet.

 _Two more ghosts_.

"Is that Kylo Ren? Come in, come in! I want to get to know my namesake a little better."

Inside Ren's room was an old man in a brown robe. His beard was white, but streaked through with occasional strands of orange.

"Another friend of my uncle's?" Kylo said dejectedly.

The man smiled. "A friend of your grandfather's actually, though I did briefly know your uncle. Master Yoda deserves most of the credit, but I was his first tutor. Obi-Wan Kenobi, though when I died most knew me as Old Ben."

"The Jedi who saved my mother from the Empire. She told me stories about you when I was a boy." For once the boy actually had a glimmer of light in his eye. "You were a hero in the Clone Wars."

"I played my parts. Though in the war all of us were actors upon Darth Sidious' stage. I try not to dwell on that part of my life, for the past is full of sorrows."

"Hn. Maybe you don't know me after all. You wouldn't win in a contest of tragedy with me."

For a brief moment the Jedi Master's eyes flickered with emotion, but the Supreme Leader didn't notice.

"Well, what have you come to show me? Yoda thinks that repeating the past will be my downfall. I'm inclined to agree. That's why I've taken control of my own destiny."

The old man's eyes regained their twinkle. "I've come to show you that you're ignoring your present as well as your past." And with that the room once again faded out of view.

"Where are... oh, no."

They were in a room made almost entirely of dark wood, with a deep green carpet. As the rest of the room came into focus Kylo Ren tensed up. He recognized this place. How could he not? He visited it once a year. This was the home of Chewbacca, where he and his family celebrated Life Day.

"I've never had the opportunity to visit this world," Obi-Wan looked out the windows of the living room at the impossibly tall forest beyond. Tree trunks thicker than starships stood upright like a vast spaceport of mottled brown and green.

"It loses its appeal after a while," Ren said flatly.

"Still, that doesn't stop some people from visiting," the Jedi motioned for the boy to turn around.

The living room was now full of people, most of whom Ren recognized as being members of the Resistance. The pilot he interrogated for the map to Skywalker was admiring Lumpy's model starfighter collection. The wayward Storm Trooper who confronted him in the forest on Starkiller Base was asleep with his nose in an old, thickly bound book, while a blonde woman read another with a disinterested look in her eye.

And on the couch, nodding patiently as she listened to an ancient white haired Wookiee, was _the girl_.

Ben lurched forward. "You have to let me out. I need to send a division to Kashyyyk immediately."

"Please, be calm, Ben. By the time your troops would get there the Resistance will have already left."

A young woman with short dark hair entered the living room from the kitchen. "Connix, Poe, Finn. General Organa wants us out on the porch."

The blonde woman jabbed FN-2187 to wake him up, and the pilot went over to join them. "Should we bring Rey along too? She probably deserves a break."

The first girl made a quick motion towards her neck indicating it would be a bad decision. "She said she wants to teach us some sort of 'Life Day song.' Her words, not mine."

The four exited with a look of grim expectation.

"My mother is here, then," Kylo said to no one in particular.

"Right now our entire presence is from within the Force. It may not be possible for you to discern individual beings."

"Hn. Fine. I don't care. What is this meant to teach me? That I was right about"

"Family. Friends," Kenobi began. "All these things the Dark Side takes from you. This is your current life, a life _you_ have chosen."

"I have friends," Ren shuffled his feet. "And I thought the Jedi having families was a rule Anakin Skywalker broke."

"It is. And it's a rule I would have broken as well. But it was not the will of the Force. My love was taken from me."

"What happened to her?"

"She was slain. By an adherent of the Dark Side."

Ren slouched miserably. "So that's it. You look at me and you see her killer all over again. I was given your name and I became a monster."

"I'm through making such rash judgments," Kenobi said. "I have been wrong about a great many things, but most chiefly was I wrong about the Dark Side of the Force. For my entire life I believed that the Dark Side was a downward slope, too long to ever reach the bottom of and too steep to climb back up. But now I know that the Dark Side, just like the Light, is a matter of choice. Of one's conviction. I'm not sure I believe that anything we know about the nature of good and evil is true."

Ben looked at him, surprised. "What caused you to change your mind so drastically?"

"Part of it was my old master. He had an... unconventional idea of the Force that I probably should have given more notice too. But mostly, it was Luke and Anakin Skywalker. Few Jedi of the Old Republic would wager that one as strong as Vader could be turned. Luke made that wager, and he won. Somehow he pierced that metal exterior and found something inside the Emperor's apprentice that the Jedi long ago stopped valuing in their students: compassion. I wonder, would any of this have come to pass if the young man who became Darth Vader was shown any compassion by the galaxy? That, I think, is my great shortcoming. The way in which even a Jedi's sight is unrefined."

Kylo Ren looked down steadily. And for the first time since that moment in the cockpit of his TIE, guns trained on his mother, he questioned where his path had taken him.

"I..."

When he looked up, he was standing in a corridor of the Star Destroyer, and Obi-Wan was nowhere to be found. Kylo wheeled around, trying to find any trace of his guide.

"Kenobi! Where did you go? Kenobi!"

"He's gone, Ben." It was Luke, now materialized behind him. "It takes a lot of concentration to interact with the living through the Force. For some, more than others."

Kylo collapsed to the ground. "Why... why did it have to be you? I can't see my mother when we visit her though the Force. The old man can't channel enough of the Force to remain for more than an hour or so at a time. I can no longer see _her_. Why does the Force blind me to everyone else, yet it keeps bringing you back into my life?"

Luke sat down next to his nephew. "I know it's hard, but it's part of the healing process. You're connected to me. You have Skywalker in your blood. You're connected to all of us."

Kylo Ren's face darkened. "You were never the Skywalker I wanted to know."

Then the corridor went black. And then the breathing started.


	4. Chapter 4

Behind Kylo a bright orange glow sprang up. He wheeled around to see the door opening, the room beyond smoking and pulsing with fiery light. From the fog emerged a tall shape. Its silhouetted features were obscured by a long cape, its head a bell-shaped shroud.

Kylo Ren knew the shape well, for he had seen it in holocrons throughout his life. He tried to take a step towards the figure, but he found himself paralyzed by fear.

Abruptly the breathing sound that filled the hall stopped. The figure raised his hands and pulled back what evidently was only a hood. Kylo was about to react with irritation when the figure stepped close enough for him to see. He looked vaguely familiar, with his long wavy hair and rounded chin. A thin scar ran over the right side of his face. But his eyes were dark, and not entirely pleased to see him.

"You don't recognize me," the man said. It wasn't a question. "Not like the others. But you know."

"How is it possible," the boy whispered. You're so... so young."

"Another talent of joining the Force. Even Master Yoda could make himself appear younger if he wished, though I imagine he'd have to go rather far back before we noticed a difference," he grinned darkly.

"But why have you appeared before me in this way?" Ren took a knee before his grandfather. "Surely you know my devotion to your cause Lord V-"

 **"Do not prostrate yourself before me and call be by that name Ben Solo."**

The glow behind the elder Skywalker intensified and a wave of heat surged up the corridor.

"Darth Vader was an old man, defeated by Luke Skywalker in the Galaxy's most desperate hour. I am not he. My life and my body were taken from me by the Dark Side."

"But the Emperor restored your life, made you stronger!"

"A _**lie**_!" Anakin bellowed, and behind him flames erupted from the glowing doorway. "Sidious did nothing but feed me lies. I was fated to be the strongest in the Galaxy, until my Master paid me one final courtesy and denied the Empire that strength. The Dark Side has no ability to restore, to heal, to comfort. Do you think the likes of Sidious and Snoke became one with the Force when they died? The Sith craved eternal life because the Dark Side offered them [I]nothing[I] in death."

The figure became wreathed in fire as it crept ever closer, but he did not react to it.

"Is that why you let him kill the Emperor?" Ren asked meekly. "He lied to you just as Snoke lied to me."

"Perhaps you should reevaluate just how many lies he told you. _I_ killed Darth Sidious, and I did it of my own volition. Luke only supplied the spark."

"And I killed Snoke of my own accord as well! We are the same!"

"We are not the same! You are me, but with the privilege of knowing my future. But still you ignore it. Perhaps you need to _feel_ , before you will see."

The flames wrapped around Kylo Ren's body, singing his nightclothes and sending sharp pain down into his bones. He screamed and fell to the ground, Anakin looking down at him. As the smoke overcame him he blacked out...

...When his eyes opened again, the breathing had fell to a dull rhythm masked by a low ring in his ears. He was lying on a table. The world beyond him was clouded over, but he could make out two shapes standing over him.

A commanding female voice came from the first shape. _"The tissue is rejecting the implants, it will take another two days to get the required parts."_

The second shape leaned a little farther over the table. _"We can only hope that he pulls through long enough for the procedure to finish."_

 _"Sir, you have the authority to... end it, if you wish it so."_ The first voice did not waver.

 _"Oh my, Captain,"_ the second voice oozed. _"I wouldn't so callously throw away a life."_

 _"We both know that before the accident you would have gladly taken this opportunity."_

 _"Before the accident I assumed that death was the worst possible scenario,"_ the second voice said simply. _"I was proven incorrect."_

The two voices grew softer as their owners evidently left the room.

"My body, I can't feel anything?"

 _"Quite the Contrary,"_ Skywalker's voice manifested in his ear. _"Every cell in your body is laced with the most acute pain ever devised. Perhaps you can't feel it now. But one day you'll shift your weight just so, and once you realize it's there? You'll never feel anything else again."_

With a hiss the pressure on his temples increased and he could see clearly. It felt like his old mask, but tighter. Now the form of Anakin Skywalker could be seen leaning over him. He grabbed a nearby Droid and turned its screen to Kylo so that the boy could see it. His pupils narrowed in shock as he looked at what he saw. All over his body was mottled with the red and black of deep burns. Tubes and instruments snaked over and [I]through[I] his body, bracing various covers and patches to his skin.

"What, what is? Oh no, no no no!"

The droids began flashing and the tools in the operating suite rattled in their trays as he strained against his manacles. He screamed in panic, blind to everything but his terror, until finally the restraints snapped and he lurched onto his feet.

"You are strong," Anakin said. "To resist me, your emotions must be running wild."

"I don't want to continue," his voice crackled from inside the mask. "Take me back."

"Oh, but you are already _here_ ," his grandfather moved to place himself between Ben and the door. "This is the future of all who give themselves to the Dark. It's already given you one scar. How many more will you get before you can't hold it together?"

Kylo Ren reached out and felt his lightsaber fly from a nearby table to his hand. He ignited it. "Take me back!"

Anakin reached inside his black robe and pulled out the lightsaber Kylo had so long sought after.

"Very well. I will release you from your pain the only way I know how."

Kylo lunged forward and swung at his grandfather, but the weight of his prosthetics held him back. He flipped over a table in front of Anakin and then made a run for the door. He almost made it before a blue blade crossed in front of his red one.

"We're not finished yet."

With a Force Push of his own Skywalker sent Solo careening into the hall. "Fight. You are the heir apparent of Vader aren't you? Master of the Dark Side? Then stand and fight!"

A thin crescent of moon hung over the space port as their clash sent flashes of purple through the windows of the _Finalizer_.

The Jedi advanced aggressively, slashing at the tubes of bacta on Kylo's suit as he backed the Supreme Leader of the First Order back to the towering glass wall.

"Do you want this to be your future? _Do you?_ "

"Ngaaah! I don't! I don't!"

Anakin Skywalker's eyes blazed as a spiderweb of cracks crisscrossed the window.

"These are the first steps."

With a horrid crack and a rush of air, Kylo Ren felt nothing more.


	5. Chapter 5

Kylo Ren hit his head.

After taking a moment to reorient himself, he realized that he was on the floor of his bedroom. Sheets and pillows we're strewn about as though a bomb had gone off inside it. And he was... alive?

Yes, he remembered now. He was in lightsaber fight with Darth Vader, and the former Sith Lord had blown out the window of the Star Destroyer to suck him into space. Only none of that had been real. It was all a trick played by the Jedi Ghosts to frighten him.

 _And they were more than a bit successful in that regard,_ he though.

Getting dressed, he ventured out into the hall where he had met Anakin. There had been no sign of his uncle in his quarters; The salt had vanished from the floor, the fridge was untouched. And the window was still intact. Sunlight now peaked over the crest of the planet the [I]Finalizer[I] was docked over.

He found his general doing drills, same as the say before. No one seemed any different. Ren addressed the redheaded officer.

"Hux."

"Supreme Leader."

"There is always something worse than death. Remember that."

Hux blinked. "I will try, sir."

Kylo Ren was headed for the communication center. He needed more allies if he was going to achieve his destiny. He was Kylo Ren, Master of the Dark Side of the Force. He would not be manipulated by Snoke, or Solo, or _her_. But least of all would he be manipulated by Luke Skywalker.

And the young Dark Sider went about his business, though not unobserved.

"Hmm. Our demonstration. Unsuccessful, it was."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, Master Yoda. The Force is not yet finished with Ben Solo."

Anakin and Luke now joined them.

"Indeed, master. He clings stubbornly to the Dark but he is still as conflicted as he's ever been. One day he'll get the sufficient push."

"Thank you all for coming," Luke added. "It shouldn't take three Jedi to correct the mistakes of one, but here we are."

"Do not blame yourself, my son. He is a particularly difficult case. Fear is an effective tool, but without consequence he has no reason to heed it. Still, you probably shouldn't have brandished a lightsaber at the child's face."

Luke lightly punched Anakin's arm. "Sorry. I take after my father."

"Well, fun this was," Yoda shuffled forward a few steps. "But away I must go. The Wookiee singing, I wish to see, and begin it will soon. Young Master Kenobi, join me will you?"

"That sounds... stimulating," Obi-Wan said carefully, and the two old masters faded from view.

"I shall take my leave as well," Anakin turned to his son. The night's antics have left me drained. Where will you go?"

"Not far," Luke lowered his head. "I still have students to mind."

"The will of the Force is peculiar," Anakin said. Though they are far apart you can now reach both of them better than you ever could in life."

"Try as I did, I couldn't untangle our destiny from the Force."

Luke closed his eyes.

"No, I think the Skywalker saga still has one more chapter left to tell."


End file.
